1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to food preparation equipment and more particularly to cooking apparatus which is capable of cooking pasta and other foods "to order" in individual portions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the rise in popularity of fast-food and take-out restaurants, a demand has arisen for cooking apparatus for pasta and other foods which must be cooked "to order" in individual sized portions. Such cooking apparatus must not only cook food quickly to eliminate customer waiting time and preserve the "fresh-cooked" quality of the food but must also be able to be operated by relatively unskilled attendants having little or no training in the culinary arts. In U.S. Pat. No 4,214,514 which was issued on July 29, 1980 to Peter Contino and Nicholas M. Stiglich, the latter being the inventor of the present invention, there is shown cooking apparatus for pasta products in which a plurality of pots, each containing an individual-sized portion, are mechanically moved from a lower or cooking position to a higher or drainage position by a relatively complex mechanical arrangement. The pasta is cooked in the lower position by a jet of very hot water which is recirculated and filtered. Although the cooking apparatus of the said patent cooks the pasta in a satisfactory manner, the apparatus itself is relatively expensive to manufacture and maintain and the time involved in raising and lowering the pots lengthens the customer's overall waiting time. Additionally, because of the capillary action inherent in pasta products, the cooked food retains water which may render the product unpalatable for some tastes.